Tunisia MPs reject Islam as main source of law

Tunisia MPs reject Islam as main source of law

Tunisian lawmakers rejected Islam Saturday as the main source of law for the country that spawned the Arab Spring as they voted for a second day on a new constitution.

The voting comes amid concerns that a January 14 deadline for the new charter’s adoption may not be met because of disruptions and the slow pace of deliberations.

It was on January 14, 2011, that ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family fled the country for exile in Saudi Arabia.

The National Constituent Assembly adopted Article 1 of the draft constitution, establishing the country as a republic and Islam as its religion but rejecting amendments that the Koran be the main source of law.

“Tunisia is a free, independent and sovereign state. Islam is its religion, Arabic is its language, and it is a republic. It is not possible to amend this article,” the article reads.

The article, a compromise between the Islamist Ennahda party, which heads the outgoing coalition government, and the secular opposition, was adopted by 146 votes out of the 149 ballots cast.